As publishedOct 12, 2026 – Feb 28, 2027
Statewide season (grouse occur mainly in NC's western mountain counties).Habitat dependent on early-successional forest conditions has been deteriorating over recent decades per NCWRC's own species page. Bag limit confirmed 2026-08-18 from the published 2026-27 NC Inland Fishing, Hunting & Trapping Regulations Digest.
Governing source is NCWRC's Ruffed Grouse Drumming Survey across the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests (since 2002) -- the most consistently published annual grouse survey found in this six-state batch, with dedicated PDF summaries confirmed published in sequence for 2020 through 2025. A direct fetch of the species page this pass confirmed the 2025 edition remains the latest linked, with no 2026 edition yet. Expected on the same annual cadence.